mAgri Design Toolkit User-centered design for mobile agriculture

LEARN

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For more information, please visit the

frog website at www.frogdesign.com.

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GSMA’s mAgri Program catalyzes

scalable, commercial mobile services

that improve the productivity and

incomes of smallholder farmers and

benefit the agriculture sector in emerging

markets. The mAgri Program is in a

unique position to bring together mobile

operators, the agricultural organizations

and the development community to

foster sustainable and scalable mobile

services that improve the livelihoods of

smallholder farmers. This report is part

of the mNutrition initiative, launched by

the GSMA in 2014 in partnership with

the UK Government’s Department for

International Development (DFID).

For more information, please visit the

GSMA M4D website at http://www.gsma.

com/mobilefordevelopment. Follow us

on Twitter: @GSMAm4d

The GSMA represents the interests of

mobile operators worldwide, uniting

nearly 800 operators with more than

250 companies in the broader mobile

ecosystem, including handset and

device makers, software companies,

equipment providers and Internet

companies, as well as organizations in

adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA

also produces industry-leading events

such as Mobile World Congress,

Mobile World Congress Shanghai, and

the Mobile 360 Series conferences.

For more information, please visit the

GSMA corporate website at

www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on

Twitter: @GSMA.

The mAgri Design Toolkit is a collection of instructions, tools, and stories to help develop mobile agriculture products by applying a user-centered design approach.

The mAgri Design Toolkit is one of the

outcomes of a two-year initiative led by the

GSMA mAgri Program. From 2014 GSMA

worked closely with six mobile network

operators (MNOs) — Airtel Malawi, Dialog Sri

Lanka, Grameenphone in Bangladesh, Ooredoo

Myanmar, Telenor Pakistan, and Vodafone

Ghana — to develop and launch life-changing

mobile agriculture services.

The MNO-led services target smallholder farmers

with a focus on providing agriculture information

and advisory services, as well as nutrition-

sensitive agricultural information and tips, and in

some cases mobile financial services.

The GSMA mAgri Program partnered with frog to

bring the user-centered design approach into the

product development process, to better connect

the mAgri services with the needs of farmers and

other key actors in the ecosystem. frog has been

coaching UX experts within each of the MNOs,

working closely with them to establish and

practice user-centered design methods tailored

to the mobile agriculture context and needs.

All the tools provided as part of the mAgri

Design Toolkit have been tested, proven, and

refined multiple times on the ground before

being included in this collection.

The design toolkit is intended as an instrument to

provide operational guidance to the development

and implementation of mAgri services. Designing

services around the needs of the rural user is

critical to the success of mAgri services. Besides

service design, MNOs and value-added-services

(VAS) providers must form partnerships with

ecosystem players, including agriculture content

providers. They must also identify the best-suited

technology delivery channels for their target

markets, and then implement viable marketing

strategies, including both above-the-line (ATL)

and below-the-line (BTL) marketing. All of these

elements are intertwined with user design and

are critical to a viable and sustainable mAgri

business model.

Please see the appendix for the suggested GSMA

resources that should be used alongside this toolkit.

WHAT IT IS

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

User-centered design helps MNOs and VAS providers to understand what farmers really need, thereby increasing the chances of launching successful mAgri services.

Many mAgri services that have launched in

emerging markets have suffered from low

user adoption, despite coming from leading

mobile network operators and value-added

service (VAS) providers.

The rural segment is highly price sensitive,

requiring service providers to consider highly

competitive pricing and freemium models.

Reaching scale is therefore critical in order

to derive commercial benefits

Tackling these challenges can be daunting

for any service provider, but the size of the

agricultural sector and the number of people

who rely on farming for their livelihood

in emerging markets, means that service

providers can’t ignore the opportunity to

deliver services to this largely under-served

segment. GSMA mAgri estimates the labor

force in agriculture to be 552 million, and

agricultural workers with a mobile phone to

be close to 200 million in Sub-Saharan Africa

and South Asia in 2015.

I feel adopting a user-centered design process is a must when you develop mobile products for a segment such as farmers. It gave me the confidence that we have got the basic elements of the product right in order for it to be accepted by the users. We are continuously sharing our learning with fellow product teams in Dialog to help them understand the user better. Inas Jenabdeen, product manager, Dialog

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

By integrating a deep understanding of

the user when designing or adapting an

mAgri product, service providers can

drive successful innovation in the mAgri

sector and generate services that can be

commercialized faster and become more

widely adopted.

The user-centered design approach helps

mAgri service providers get a much better

understanding of this customer segment

and their ecosystem, and then design

appropriate products and services that

meet the real needs and challenges of the

customer. This approach is not typically

followed by many MNOs or VAS providers,

which has resulted in several poorly

designed products that do not meet the

demand and have gained little traction

with farmers.

The user-centered design approach puts

farmers and their experience at the center

of the product and service design, and is

grounded on a continuous and structured

interaction with end users. This approach

helps to translate the solid understanding

of users who are into a product and value

proposition, and ensures that all aspects of

the service — from the overall experience

to each detailed feature — are verified with

target users.

While exploring a complex value chain like agriculture, we believe that the GSMA mAgri Toolkit can effectively translate user-centered design into sustainable social impact.

Muhammad Farooq Shaikh, director digital

services, Telenor Pakistan

The work that frog Design has been doing to support key actors to design products and services for smallholder farmers is really revolutionary and has certainly changed the way I think about serving the rural poor, even after 20 years of experience. Frog’s meaningful and compelling client-centric insights are helping field staff, management and boards of directors to design for and meet the needs of smallholders, making sense of how technology can have a human face and be impactful, while being sustainable. Leesa Shrader, AgriFin Accelerate program

director, Mercy Corps

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

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HOW IT WORKS

The mAgri Design Toolkit displays a process together with a set of methods and tools to integrate user-centered design at any stage of the product development cycle.

The mAgri user-centered design process

focuses on engaging the farmer at any

stage of the product development, from

the early moment of identifying the

opportunities and generating concepts, to

the advanced stages of product realization,

execution, and scaling.

We can distinguish five moments in the

user-centered design process, and map

those against specific phases of the product

development cycle.

1) The plan, learn, and create steps focus

on building a foundational understanding

of farmers and their ecosystem, preparing

the team for field research (plan), gathering

insights from users (learn), and transforming

the data collected into opportunities and

service ideas (create). The create step

represents the transition from concept

development to realization, dictating design

and strategic decisions.

2) The develop stage looks at ways to

extend the interaction with users during

concept realization by providing tools and

methods that allow the team to continuously

evaluate the service idea, value proposition,

and detailed features. The feedback

collected is then used as input to refine the

product execution and strategies.

3) After launch, the maintain phase evolves

the tools and methods used during product

realization to look at new design iterations

and extensions of the product based on the

actual user experience. The maintain phase

also loops back into the planning phase,

setting the stage for new cycles of research

and idea generation.

It is important to note that this mAgri Design Toolkit

does not cover other aspects that are critical to making

an mAgri product successful (e.g., getting C-level buy-

in). Please see the appendix for the suggested GSMA

resources that should be used alongside this toolkit.

To apply a user-centered process, you need to first align

on team setup, existing knowledge, and assumptions.

Discuss the overall goal for your mAgri service and how to

set up user research to ensure that farmers’ voices and their

ecosystem are integrated into the mAgri service.

To create meaningful products, you need to be closer

to user, market, and context of use. This understanding

starts with going out in the field, asking the right

questions, and testing hypotheses with farmers to guide

you throughout the design process.

To develop a mAgri concept that is deeply rooted in

insights captured in the field, you need to analyze

the information collected, and identify the right

opportunities for your mAgri service, considering all the

diverse voices of the farmers and their ecosystem.

To shift from concept to realization, you need to prioritize

features and plan how to create value, deliver, and

capture it over time. While the product starts to take

shape, organize additional validation sessions with the user

to make sure you are going in the right direction.

The launch is only the beginning of the journey, not the goal.

When the product launches, you need to continuously gather

feedback from farmers and the ecosystem to refine and

improve the product, looking at all the aspects that shape

the final user experience.

PLAN

LEARN

CREATE

DEVELOP

MAINTAIN

Phases Objectives

HOW IT WORKS

RESEARCH INSIGHTS

REFINED HYPOTHESES

DISCUSSION GUIDE

NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE

USER ARCHETYPES

LIFE CYCLE MAPPING

IDEATION EXERCISES

CUSTOMER JOURNEY

CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS

AGENT TRAINING

GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY

USER VALIDATION PLAN CARD SORTING

LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPES

RECRUITING CRITERIA

RESEARCH PLAN

ORGANIZATION READINESS

TEAM SETUP

COLLABORATION TOOLS

SUCCESS CRITERIA

MISSION COUNTDOWN

HYPOTHESIS GENERATION

ECOSYSTEM MAPPING

PREPARATION ACTIVITIES OUTCOMES

Tools

HOW IT WORKS

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

FARMING LIFE CYCLE

TRUST CIRCLE

HOUSE-FARM TOUR

INTERCEPT INTERVIEW

VALUE PROPOSITION

SERVICE BLUEPRINT

MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

ADVOCATE & SKEPTICS MAP

BUSINESS MODEL

PRODUCT ITERATIVE PLANNINGMONITORING PLAN CUSTOMER JOURNEY ISSUES

WHEN TO APPLY IT

How the Design Toolkit can help refine the product you are developing.

How the Design Toolkit can help you come up with a new service idea.

If you have not yet developed an mAgri

service, or the product you have in the

market has not been successful, the user-

centered design process can help to build

a deep understanding of farmers and the

complex system of cultural, societal, financial

dynamics they are part of. The learnings

collected in the field become the foundation

for your team to generate ideas for new

mAgri services or to redesign the existing

ones, giving the opportunity to always verify

any design or strategic decisions against

user insights.

If you are developing a new mAgri service

and you are unsure how it will be perceived

in the market and generate adoption, the

user-centered design process can help verify

and adjust the product design and strategy

before launch. You can test the mAgri

service idea by creating rough prototypes of

the service, evaluating the value proposition

and prioritizing certain features with farmers,

assessing the distribution strategy with all

the actors in the ecosystem, and integrating

your lessons into the product development

process.

ENTRY POINT: PLAN

RECOMMENDED TOOLS: RECOMMENDED TOOLS:

ENTRY POINT: DEVELOP

ORGANIZATION READINESS, SUCCESS CRITERIA,

ECOSYSTEM MAPPING, RECRUITING CRITERIA,

RESEARCH PLAN, DISCUSSION GUIDE, IN-DEPTH

INTERVIEW, INTERCEPT INTERVIEW, RESEARCH INSIGHTS,

USER ARCHETYPES, CUSTOMER JOURNEY, VALUE

PROPOSITION, MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

ECOSYSTEM MAPPING, RECRUITING CRITERIA,

USER VALIDATION PLAN, DISCUSSION GUIDE,

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW, CARD SORTING, LOW-FIDELITY

PROTOTYPES, TRUST CIRCLE, FARMING LIFE CYCLE,

CONTENT PLANNING, AGENT TRAINING, GO-TO-MARKET

STRATEGY, CUSTOMER JOURNEY ISSUES

HOW TO PREPARE

Following a user-centered design approach does not guarantee a successful product; other factors need to be in place to get the desired outcome.

INTERNAL BUY-INMake sure you have the buy-in and support from

the right people in your organization. mAgri products that

don’t have C-level visibility and support often struggle.

MARKET SIZE ASSESSMENT AND BUSINESS CASEConduct a market sizing assessment and develop

a business case for your mAgri service. This will be critical

to get C-level and organizational buy-in.

BUDGETSecure budget for the research and design process. After

reading the toolkit, work out the budget required to do all

the activities relevant for your stage of product development.

PARTNERSFind the right partners to work with. MNOs and other mobile

service providers need to partner with organizations that

can bring the agriculture knowledge and support the research.

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IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER THESE FACTORS WHEN YOU ADOPT A USER-CENTRED DESIGN APPROACH FOR YOUR mAgri SERVICE:

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GET READY TO START!

SECTION COVER

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

TOOL DESCRIPTION & INSTRUCTIONS

TOOL TEMPLATE

Each section opens with a description of the product development phase and a summary of the tools suggested for preparation, activities, and outcomes of the phase.

Each tool is described with indication of time, materials, complexity, and resources needs (on the left side) and detailed instructions (on the right side).

Some of the tools include real stories from the field that help put a specific tool into context and provide additional suggestions on how to apply it.

When needed, a blank worksheet or template is also provided: you can easily print out the worksheets you need and start practicing!

How to read the toolkit:

Methods and tools that can help you run the research

Methods and tools to frame what you learned

TO CREATE SOMETHING MEANINGFUL, YOU NEED

TO BE CLOSER TO THE USER AND TO THE MARKET

AND CONTEXTS OF USE. THIS UNDERSTANDING

STARTS WITH GOING OUT IN THE FIELD,

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, AND TESTING

HYPOTHESES WITH FARMERS TO GUIDE YOU

THROUGHOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS.

Make sure you are ready to start the field research

P R E PA R AT I O N AC T I V I T I E S O U TCO M E S

LEARN

RESEARCH INSIGHTS

REFINED HYPOTHESES

DISCUSSION GUIDE

NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

FARMING LIFE CYCLE

TRUST CIRCLE

HOUSE-FARM TOUR

INTERCEPT INTERVIEW

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DISCUSSION GUIDE

NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE

Make sure you are ready to start the field research

P R E PA R AT I O N

OUTLINE TOPICS, QUESTIONS, AND ACTIVITIES YOU

PLAN TO FOCUS ON DURING THE FIELD RESEARCH,

BUILDING A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE MODERATOR.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S90+ minutesfor each guide

Medium: good understanding of ethnographic research methods

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GuideLEARN / PREPARATION

Text edit tool Research team (define a research team by picking one or two representatives from each area)

LIST THE KEY INVESTIGATION AREASStart by listing the main areas you need to explore with each group of

participants. Usually the interview is shaped around three to four main

areas of exploration. Once you have identified them, assign an order, going

from the high-level ones and then gradually digging deeper into the topic.

DISCUSSION GUIDE INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / PREPARATION

ADD HYPOTHESES AND ASSUMPTIONS Consider the main hypotheses and assumptions that your team

have made and find ways to add them into the questionnaire. Don’t

be concerned about asking opinions about hypotheses or ideas that

may be wrong; this can help to get the conversation going.

DETAIL YOUR QUESTIONS FOR EACH INVESTIGATION AREA Focus on one investigation area each time and list all the

questions that come to mind for that specific theme. Make sure

the questions encourage participants to share stories and not just

answer “yes” or “no.”

DESIGN HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

Sometimes it’s hard to cover all the points you identified in the

discussion guide with direct questions. Review your list of questions

at the end and mark the ones that would need the support of physical

materials (e.g., cards) to generate more effective discussions.

DISCUSSION GUIDE

FARMER

INTERVIEWER

NOTE+PHOTO TAKER

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DON’T ASK LEADING QUESTIONS, SUCH AS “YOU NEED PRICING INFORMATION, CORRECT?” INSTEAD,ASK OPEN QUESTIONS, SUCH AS “WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION DO YOU LACK THE MOST?”

Following the instructions provided during

the first workshop with frog, we started off

with the creation of the discussion guide

used during the interviews in the field.

We started by organizing sticky notes

under the categories of “challenges” and

“opportunities.” In parallel, we continued

planning the overall research in terms

of locations and types of participants

(middlemen, farmers, experts, etc.).

With challenges, opportunities, and roles

roughly defined, we brainstormed and

populated trigger questions under each

section of the discussion guide.

Our main intention was to ensure “triggering discussions” instead of a simple questionnaire approach.

Once the discussion guide was completed,

we circulated it internally across the

different teams involved for review.

While it was great to get stories from

the farmers, we also had to make

sure the discussion was being kept on

track. At some points, we were picking

keywords from the regional language and

paraphrasing, to move the discussion back

to the right direction.

How to build a discussion guide starting from challenges and opportunities.

PakistanGSMA + Telenor

The discussion guide was important to make sure we asked the right questions, but we soon memorized it so the conversation flowed more naturally.

DISCUSSION GUIDE STORIES FROM THE FIELDLEARN / PREPARATION

Stories from the field Discussion Guide

DISCUSSION GUIDE STORIES FROM THE FIELDLEARN / ACTIVITY

Another interesting aspect that we

learned is that printing out the discussion

guide could sometimes be ineffective, as

interviews were then perceived by the

participant more as an exam than as an

open conversation. We quickly realized that

and memorized the questions included in

the guide instead of bringing it in front of

the interviewees.

One day was very windy. As soon as we started talking, the sheets of the guide were flying around, and we had to use rocks to keep everything on the table. [Kashif, Telenor UX expert]

We never managed to have a discussion with one person at a time. Usually it was at least five.

DISCUSSION GUIDE: PAKISTAN TELENOR INVESTIGATION AREAS

1. INTRODUCTION AND HOUSEKEEPING [10 min]

2. WARM-UP [10 min]

3. FARMING LIFE CYCLE [30 min]

4. PURCHASE, EARNING, AND FINANCIAL SERVICES [30 min]

5. ADVICE, TRUST, AND DECISION-MAKING [20 min]

6. HYPOTHESIS TESTING [20 min]

7. TECHNOLOGY AND CONNECTIVITY [20 min]

8. WRAP-UP [10 min]

SET A PREDEFINED TEMPLATE FOR NOTE-TAKING

TO KEEP DATA COLLECTION ORGANIZED AND

MAKE IT EASIER TO SYNTHESISE THE DATA LATER.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S1+ hours practice,then used throughout field research

Block notes Medium: fast analytical skills

Note-taker (define who in the research team is going to take notes)

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Note-takingTemplate

LEARN / PREPARATION

ASSIGN ROLES Assign each team member a role to play during field research.

The moderator will be in charge of asking the questions, and the

others will be observers charged with taking notes and photos.

Observers wait to ask questions until invited by the moderator.

NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / PREPARATION

DEFINE A NOTE-TAKING FORMAT Establish a shared note-taking format for the observers.

It can be analog or digital (usually analog works better in rural

environments). Predefined categories or maps could help setting a grid

for the note-taker. Experimenting beforehand is highly recommended.

REFLECT ON THE NOTE-TAKING TASK Explain that careful in-field note-taking enables later synthesis

of insights and reduces the tendency for team members to only

remember information that confirms their own opinions. The notes from

the field will become the rough data to build learnings upon.

APPLY IT!During the interviews, write down each note following the

predefined categories. Remember that a note can be a quote,

but it can also be your observation of body language, behavior or

of something else in the environment.

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NAME + LOCATION

NOTES

QUOTES

OBSERVATIONS

INSIGHTS

RECOMMENDATION: CREATING PREDEFINED CATEGORIES BEFORE ENTERING THE FIELD WILL GIVE MORE STRUCTURE TO YOUR NOTES

FOR EASIER SYNTHESIS LATER THE NOTE- TAKER CAN HIGHLIGHT THE MOST INTERESTING QUOTES DURING THE NOTE-TAKING PROCESS

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Methods and tools that can help you run the research

AC T I V I T I E S

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

FARMING LIFE CYCLE

TRUST CIRCLE

HOUSE-FARM TOUR

INTERCEPT INTERVIEWS

TIP: BE AWARE OF GENDER

DYNAMICS. IF YOU WANT TO

INTERVIEW WOMEN, CONSIDER AN

ALL-FEMALE INTERVIEW TEAM OR

HAVE A FEMALE MODERATOR.

IF YOU ARE TALKING TO THE MALE

HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD, HAVE

A MALE MODERATOR.

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Developing a deep understanding of farmers is critical when designing

an mAgri product that meets the real needs of the target users.

HAVE FOCUSED ONE-TO-ONE CONVERSATIONS WITH

SELECTED PARTICIPANTS TO DIG DEEP INTO THEIR

HABITS, NEEDS, MOTIVATIONS, AND BEHAVIORS.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S90-120 minutesper interview

• Discussion guides• Block notes• Camera• Audio recorder

High: expertmoderation skills

• Interviewer• Note-taker • Photographer

In-depthInterview

LEARN / ACTIVITY

INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND THE TEAMIntroduce yourself and your organization and explain your research

objectives to set clear expectations. Always check in to understand if the

participant is comfortable with the interview and try to build a context for

the conversation.

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IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / ACTIVITY

ASK WHY Always ask why as a way to dig deeper into the answers and uncover

hidden needs and motivations. Even when the participant might say

something you expect, ask why to understand the key motivation behind

his or her actions and answers.

APPROACH THE INTERVIEW WITH STRUCTURE Establishing credibility is essential to set the right tone for the conversation.

During the interview it’s important to cover all the aspects mentioned

in the guide while remaining open and listening carefully, to shape the

dialog around what the participant shares and says.

FINISH POLITELY! At the end of the interview, thank the participant and offer a small

gift (appropriate in the local context) to show appreciation for his

or her time. If you took photos, let the participant review the

photos to make sure he or she is comfortable with them.

DISCUSSION GUIDE

NOTE-TAKER

PHOTOGRAPHER

TIP: MAKE SURE THAT NO MORE THAN FOUR PEOPLE ATTEND AN INTERVIEW SESSION TO AVOID INTIMIDATING THE PARTICIPANT

ALWAYS ASK WHAT LANGUAGE THE PARTICIPANT IS MORE COMFORTABLE WITH AND BRING WITH YOU SOMEONE WHO CAN SPEAK THE LOCAL DIALECT AND TRANSLATE

BUILD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE WHOLE FARMING

LIFE CYCLE TO IDENTIFY PAIN POINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

THAT CAN BE USED IN THE PRODUCT DESIGN.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S30 minutesfor each farmerinterviewed

• Worksheet• Pen

Medium: good facilitation skills

Interviewer

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Farming Life Cycle

LEARN / ACTIVITY

EXPLAIN THE EXERCISE TO THE PARTICIPANTThe objective is to discuss the overall farming experience, focusing on

each step in the journey. The worksheet provides an initial sequence of

phases (plan, prepare, grow, harvest, sell). Feel free to add and remove

phases while talking.

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FARMING LIFE CYCLE INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / ACTIVITY

ASSIGN EMOTIONAL RATING Once the map is completed, ask the participant to assign an emotional

rate to each moment (e.g., “Do you feel satisfied or frustrated in the

plan phase? Why?”). Feel free to draw the emotions using symbols that

you think farmers would understand (e.g., different face expressions,

star rating, ticks, and crosses).

DISCUSS THE KEY CHALLENGES Start from the first phase and ask the farmer to describe what

happens (e.g., “How do you plan the seeding?”) and list the key

challenges in that moment (e.g., “What is the most difficult part of

planning?”). Write notes directly on the worksheet, phase by phase.

[OPTIONAL] ADD THE FINANCIAL LAYER Complete the farming life cycle by asking what is the financial income

and expenses of each stage. Adding the financial layer to the overall

map of challenges and emotions will provide a better understanding of

how to design the mAgri service to suit the farmer’s financial cycle.

FARMING STEPS

EMOTIONS

KEY CHALLENGES

FINANCIAL PLAN

1.... 2.... 3.... 4.... 5.... 6....

RECOMMENDATION: IF THE FARMER DOESN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE WRITING ON THE SHEET, THE MODERATOR SHOULD PROACTIVELY WRITE ON IT, BASED ON WHAT THE FARMER SAYS

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UNDERSTAND WHO FARMERS TRUST FOR

INFORMATION; THESE INSIGHTS ARE A FOUNDATION

FOR THE MAGRI PRODUCT AND MARKETING AND

DISTRIBUTION PLANS LATER.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S20 minutesexercise

• Worksheet• Player cards

Low: basic moderation skills

Interviewer

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CircleLEARN / ACTIVITY

BUILD YOUR TRUST CIRCLE Prepare a set of little cards that represent all the players

you identified in the ecosystem (one player per card).

Do not exceed more than eight players or the exercise can

become overwhelming.

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TRUST CIRCLE INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / ACTIVITY

MAP THE PLAYERS ON THE CIRCLES Pick the first player you want to discuss and ask the participant

how much he or she trusts that player. You can place the card on the

circles yourself based on the answer, or ask the participants to do that by

themselves. Place the players who they trust the most at the bottom and

center of the sheet, and players they trust less to the outer circles.

SHOW THE WORKSHEET AND CARDS TO THE PARTICIPANT During the in-depth interview, place the cards in front of the

participant so that he or she can see every item. Introduce the cards

one by one and explain the circles visualized in the worksheets to represent

the different degrees of trust for information around the farmer.

ASK WHY The exercise is just a trigger to dig deeper into certain aspects. Before

jumping to the next players, always ask why the current one has been

placed in a certain position. At the end review the entire map, trying to

make some broader considerations about the ecosystem and user’s trust.

RECOMMENDATION: IF YOU ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF A LONG FIELD RESEARCH TRIP, YOU MAY CONSIDER LAMINATING THE CARDS TO BETTER PRESERVE THEM

The trust circle exercise was a fundamental

exercise that helped inform our mAgri

product. We learned many surprising

insights about who the farmers trust for

information, and it was very different from

what we expected. To prepare for the

exercise, we identified eleven players who

are part of the farmer’s day-to-day life for

information and made a card to represent

each one. We could bring the cards into the

fields. The trust circle exercise was great to

do at the beginning of in-depth interviews

with farmers, because the farmers enjoyed

the hands-on activity and the discussion.

While each farmer had some differences

in whom he or she trusted, it was overall

quite consistent across all the interviews.

There were three key insights from the

exercise that surprised us. First, we learned

that famers don’t really trust other farmers,

and mainly see each other as competitors.

Second, we were surprised that mobile

network operators (MNOs) are not trusted

for farm information. Third, we learned

that farmers gain trust by validating the

information with many sources (e.g.,

middlemen, input dealer shop, TV, and

radio), and won’t just trust a single source of

information instantly.

How to design a service that leverages existing trust circles.

Sri LankaGSMA + Dialog

We assumed that farmers would just trust the information sent out to them, but we realized that farmers don’t automatically trust information from mobile network operators (MNOs). They see us as experts about phones, but not farms.

TRUST CIRCLE STORIES FROM THE FIELDLEARN / ACTIVITY

Stories from the field Trust Circle

TRUST CIRCLE STORIES FROM THE FIELDCREATE / ACTIVITY

Based on these trust dynamics, we designed the mAgri service that incorporates these learnings. We wanted each farmer to feel the mAgri service is customized for him or her only and not the whole community. We want farmers to get information that makes them more competitive.

Also, we have been working closely with

popular farmers in the community and the

government to build more trust with the

mAgri service, as we know that the mobile

operator brand isn’t enough to get farmers’

trust. Also, we decided to make the content

sound like a conversation between many

different types of people, so that farmers

feel they are getting a diverse set of voices

on the advice.

We have just completed the user testing with

some farmers, and received positive feedback

about farmers trusting the mAgri service.

We learned many surprising things about who farmers actually trust for farm information.

The go-to-market strategy and content for the mAgri service was heavily influenced by the findings from the trust circle exercise.[Lilian, frog program manager]

ASK FOR A GUIDED TOUR THROUGHOUT THE

CONTEXT OF WHERE A FARMER LIVES AND WORKS

TO OBSERVE HABITS, NEEDS, AND CHALLENGES.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S30–60 minutesfor each farmerinterviewed

• Discussion guide• Block notes• Camera

Low: good observation skills

• Interviewer• Note-taker • Photographer

GH

AN

A

House-farmTour

LEARN / ACTIVITY

FARMERINTERVIEWER

NOTE+PHOTO TAKER

INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND THE TEAMIntroduce yourself and your organization and explain your research

objectives to set clear expectations. Always check in to understand

if the participant is comfortable with the interview and try to build

a context for the conversation.

1

2

3

4

HOUSE-FARM TOUR INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / ACTIVITY

DEEPLY INVESTIGATE UNCLEAR ITEMS Take time after the visit to ask more questions that help you

clarify what you observed during the tour. Focus on elements

that have a correlation with your research purpose and be sure

to pursue every avenue.

ASK FOR A TOUR Only start the house-farm tour after you have gained trust with the farmer.

If you think the farmer feels comfortable with you, ask the farmer to take you

through his or her day visiting the specific places where farm activities take

place. Carefully listen to every detail while observing the context.

AFTER THE VISIT

Don’t forget to thank the farmer for participating! If the tour was

particularly insightful, you may consider returning to engage the same

interviewee for concept testing during the next phase of the project.

Debrief with the rest of the team.

RECOMMENDATIONS: THIS ACTIVITY HELPS BUILD PERSONAS. TRY TO BRING YOUR MARKETING TEAM INTO THE FIELD

USE THE OBSERVATION TO VERIFY WHAT THE FARMERS SAY: SOMETIMES PEOPLE DON’T TELL THE EXACT TRUTH OR FORGET KEY DETAILS

TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE ECOSYSTEM BY

QUICKLY GETTING THE PERSPECTIVE FROM SEVERAL

PLAYERS. GO BEYOND JUST THE FARMER TO DISCLOSE

OTHER PAIN POINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y R O L E SM AT E R I A L S15–30 minutes each intercept interview

• Block notes• Camera

Low: good conversation skills

• Interviewer• Photographer

BA

NG

LA

DE

SHIntercept

InterviewLEARN / ACTIVITY

PLAN FOR SOME INTERCEPTS Identify key players from the ecosystem mapping exercise that you

need to understand further. Find ways to intercept these key players who

may provide interesting perspectives. For example, go to farmer market

days, visit input stores, and attend NGO events. Have a short discussion

guide with three to five questions that you would like to ask them.

1

2

3

4

INTERCEPT INTERVIEW INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / ACTIVITY

ASK A FEW QUESTIONS The most important thing to remember with intercept interviews is that

the people you talk to may not have a lot of time to respond to questions.

Try to find a quiet spot to talk and keep the conversation to less than

30 minutes. You can also run a group interview in the same way.

INTRODUCE YOURSELF BRIEFLY Once you find somebody you would like to briefly interview, introduce

yourself and explain what you are doing with the project. Ask if he or

she is willing to answer a couple of questions that would help you better

understand some aspects. Be transparent about your goals.

[OPTIONAL] FOLLOW UP LATER

If the data collected is interesting and you want to explore it further, ask

the intercept to meet at another time to continue the conversation or

schedule another time for an in-depth interview. Intercepts are usually

a great opportunity for snowball recruiting (where you ask participants to

connect you with other interesting people for interviews).

EXAMPLE, ONE QUESTION YOU CAN ASK: “CAN YOU SHOW ME...?”

BA

NG

LA

DE

SH

LEARN

Methods and tools to frame what you learned

O U TCO M E S

RESEARCH INSIGHTS

REFINED HYPOTHESES

MEET WITH YOUR TEAM AFTER EACH INTERVIEW

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY TO CAPTURE RESEARCH

INSIGHTS WHILE THEY ARE FRESH.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y PA R T I C I PA N T SM AT E R I A L S30 minutes at the end of each interview; 1 hour at the end of the day

• Post-it notes• Block notes

Medium: good collaboration and analytical skills

BA

NG

LA

DE

SHResearch

InsightsLEARN / OUTCOME

Research team (define a research team by picking one or two representative from each area)

STOP SOMEWHEREFind a place for the full team to comfortably meet right after each

interview. Do not let much time elapse between the interview and the

debrief to ensure you remember the details of every interview. If you are

traveling with a car, the trip usually becomes a good moment for debriefing.

1

2

3

4

RESEARCH INSIGHTS INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / OUTCOME

DISCUSS ALL THE INSIGHTS COLLECTIVELY Team members should take turns reading aloud their answers for each

of the questions. Team members should add onto another person’s

insights, rather than repeat them. Each story or insight should have one

Post-it note.

ELABORATE INSIGHTS INDIVIDUALLY The lead should have five key questions that everyone should

individually answer about that interview within 10 minutes. These

questions could span from asking about the interview profile, to

surprising insights, to how to improve the next interview process.

LEAVE TIME TO DEBRIEF ABOUT THE ENTIRE DAY During the evening the team can cluster similar insights and stories

together and discuss the implications of learnings to the mAgri service.

Be clear about what new questions or hypotheses need to be tested for

the next round of interviews. Refine your insights throughout the entire

duration of the research.

IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE TEAMS RUNNING RESEARCH IN PARALLEL, FIND A WAY TO DEBRIEF TOGETHER (e.g., VIDEO CALL)

IF YOU IDENTIFY KEY INSIGHTS RELATED TO GENDER DYNAMICS, TRY TO VALIDATE YOUR THINKING WITH LOCAL EXPERTS

PUT THE INSIGHTS INTO ACTION BY USING THEM

TO VERIFY AND REFINE THE ORIGINAL HYPOTHESES

AND EARLY PRODUCT CONCEPTS.

T I M E CO M P L E X I T Y PA R T I C I PA N T SM AT E R I A L S30 minutesexercise

• First hypothesis• Notes and insights

Medium: good analytical skills

SR

I L

AN

KA

RefinedHypotheses

LEARN / ACTIVITY

• Project manager• UX lead• Technology• Marketing• Content

REVIEW THE FIRST HYPOTHESISDo this exercise with a mix of people, some who have done

the field research, some who have not. Start from the initial

hypothesis that was created in the planning phase. Write each

hypothesis on a separate sheet of paper.

REFINED HYPOTHESES INSTRUCTIONSLEARN / OUTCOME

REFINE THE STATEMENTS Compare the initial statement with the insights from the field, and

decide whether you can confirm the hypothesis or need to change it.

If needed, come out with a new statement that represents the revised

hypothesis. Repeat the same exercise for all the statements.

MAP YOUR RESEARCH INSIGHTS AGAINST EACH HYPOTHESIS Have the field team add Post-it notes under each statement,

representing a key related insight collected in the field. Try to write

insights that represent patterns you observed several times; don’t

challenge an hypothesis with single intuitions.

CONTINUE TO ITERATE

The hypothesis refinement is an ongoing activity that continues to

evolve as the research and the project evolve. Hypotheses, as well as

archetypes and ecosystems, can vary over time, reflecting changes in

the market, technology, and society.

1

2

3

4

Our team developed an initial mAgri

concept before going into the field. The aim

of the product was to develop a stronger

link between farmers and buyers by

providing better access to information

(e.g., prices, amount of crops to sell).

Before our first interview, the team took

some time to write down the assumptions

about farmers that led to the concept.

After spending about three weeks in the field, we revisited each hypothesis and found that many of them were not correct.

For example, we thought that farmers

lacked access to pricing information. During

the field research, we learned that farmers

have multiple ways to learn about pricing,

such as radio, TV, and other farmers who

just went to the market. However, just

knowing the price doesn’t empower them,

because they are located far away and

their quantity of crops isn’t large enough

to negotiate for a better price. So, what

farmers actually lack is negotiation power.

Having more information about the latest

prices doesn’t necessarily mean a farmer is

more empowered to get a better price.

The initial hypothesis was significantly updated after the field research.

Sri LankaGSMA + Dialog

We are really happy that we tested the hypothesis in the field rather than sticking to them and failing once we launch the product.

REFINED HYPOTHESES STORIES FROM THE FIELDLEARN / OUTCOME

Stories from the field Refined Hypotheses

The hypothesis exercise was important for

the team to realize that basic assumptions

we make about the farmers aren’t always

correct, and it’s important to speak with

the farmers themselves to make sure we

aren’t imposing our own values and beliefs

into the design.

Farmers don’t have access to latest market

prices and buyers, resulting in diminished

bargaining power and income.

Farmers don’t follow best agricultural

practices and misuse chemicals because

they lack expert knowledge and advice.

The mobile device is an unfamiliar channel

for accessing agricultural information.

Farmers do have timely access to

market prices and buyers, but access to

information alone does not necessarily

improve negotiation power.

When expert advice seems risky and

not validated, farmers deliberately

ignore the advice and follow their own

instinct and experience.

The mobile device is an unfamiliar channel

for accessing information, and it won’t

replace the other channels in the short term as

a key, trusted source of farming information.

After doing research we realized that it is always better to step out of the office and understand the user better before creating products.

Even though my family farms, most of my hypotheses about the farmers were proven to be wrong. [Sathyan, Dialog UX expert]

INITIAL ASSUMPTIONS REVISED HYPOTHESIS

REFINED HYPOTHESES STORIES FROM THE FIELDCREATE / ACTIVITY

To apply a user-centered process, you need to first align

on team setup, existing knowledge, and assumptions.

Discuss the overall goal for your mAgri service and how to

set up user research to ensure that farmers’ voices and their

ecosystem are integrated into the mAgri service.

To create meaningful products, you need to be closer

to user, market, and context of use. This understanding

starts with going out in the field, asking the right

questions, and testing hypotheses with farmers to guide

you throughout the design process.

To develop a mAgri concept that is deeply rooted in

insights captured in the field, you need to analyze

the information collected, and identify the right

opportunities for your mAgri service, considering all the

diverse voices of the farmers and their ecosystem.

To shift from concept to realization, you need to prioritize

features and plan how to create value, deliver, and

capture it over time. While the product starts to take

shape, organize additional validation sessions with the user

to make sure you are going in the right direction.

The launch is only the beginning of the journey, not the goal.

When the product launches, you need to continuously gather

feedback from farmers and the ecosystem to refine and

improve the product, looking at all the aspects that shape

the final user experience.

PLAN

LEARN

CREATE

DEVELOP

MAINTAIN

Learn about more phases:

SUMMARY

RESEARCH INSIGHTS

REFINED HYPOTHESES

DISCUSSION GUIDE

NOTE-TAKING TEMPLATE

USER ARCHETYPES

LIFE CYCLE MAPPING

IDEATION EXERCISES

CUSTOMER JOURNEY

CONTENT CONSIDERATIONS

AGENT TRAINING

GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY

USER VALIDATION PLAN CARD SORTING

LOW-FIDELITY PROTOTYPES

RECRUITING CRITERIA

RESEARCH PLAN

ORGANIZATION READINESS

TEAM SETUP

COLLABORATION TOOLS

SUCCESS CRITERIA

MISSION COUNTDOWN

HYPOTHESIS GENERATION

ECOSYSTEM MAPPING

PREPARATION ACTIVITIES OUTCOMES

SUMMARY

IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

FARMING LIFE CYCLE

TRUST CIRCLE

HOUSE-FARM TOUR

INTERCEPT INTERVIEW

VALUE PROPOSITION

SERVICE BLUEPRINT

MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

ADVOCATE & SKEPTICS MAP

BUSINESS MODEL

PRODUCT ITERATIVE PLANNINGMONITORING PLAN CUSTOMER JOURNEY ISSUES

APPENDIX

Further reading on Agri VAS

MARKET OPPORTUNITY AND BUSINESS CASE

Agricultural value-added services (Agri VAS): market opportunity and emerging business models (2015)

Estimates the size of the potential Agri VAS

market in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

and presents an in-depth analysis of the

business models in the market today.

Agricultural machine-to-machine (M2M): a platform for expansion (2015)

GSMA investigates the opportunity for

mobile operators in the Agricultural M2M

space.

TECHNOLOGY

Guidelines for agricultural call centers (2014)

Lays out a step-by-step process for

establishing an agricultural call center.

Agri VAS functional requirements and best practice: SMS & IVR (2014)

Outlines the different types of Agri services

that can be delivered with SMS and IVR,

common pitfalls, and best practices.

APPENDIX

CONTENT

Mobile market information for Agri VAS operators: a quick start guide (2013)

Applying the concept of market information

systems to mobile delivery service channels.

Guidelines for creating agricultural VAS content (2013)

A guide to understanding the scale and

scope of different agricultural content

requirements and a step-by-step process to

deliver against them.

PRODUCT & MARKETING

Women in Agriculture: a toolkit for mobile services practitioners (2014)

Outlines the case and considerations

for designing an Agri service “through a

gender lens.”

Mobile user analytics: a case study in mAgri (2014)

This guest study from the M4D Impact team

discusses the value of user analytics for

improving mobile agriculture services.

APPENDIX

AGRI VAS

Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS): Market Entry Toolkit (2011)

This comprehensive document explores the

opportunities for Agricultural VAS and covers

emerging best practices on marketing,

service design, and business modeling.

mAgri CASE STUDIES

Outlining progress and best practices in

mobile agriculture services.

Vodafone Turkey Farmers’ Club (2015) An Agri-VAS and bundled service

Airtel Green SIM (2015) An Agri-VAS service in India

mFarmer case studies and deep dive analyses of Tigo Kilimo, Airtel Kilimo, Orange’s Sènèkèla and Handygo’s mKisan services, co-funded

by the mAgri team under the mFarmer

initiative (2014-15)

Micro-insurance in mobile agriculture (2015) Analysis of ACRE, a Kenyan micro-insurance

product for farmers

mKilimo (2011) An agricultural call center funded by the

mAgri Program

THANKS TO...

mAgri Design Toolkit authors

Brandon Edwards, frog

Roberta Tassi, frog

Lilian Tse, frog

Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, GSMA

Victoria Clause, GSMA

Nicole Darabian, GSMA

Amol Jadhav, GSMA

Tegan Palmer, GSMA

Natalia Pshenichnaya, GSMA

Daniele Tricarico, GSMA

mAgri Design Toolkit contributors

Tawonga Kayira, Airtel Malawi

Khumbo Phiri, Airtel Malawi

Dela Kumahor, Cobalt Consulting

Diana Akrong, Cobalt Consulting

Inas Jenabdeen, Dialog

Sathyan Velumani, Dialog

Ihan Cheng, frog

Jennifer Dunnam, frog

Katie Inglis, frog

Siddharta Lizcano, frog

Alvaro Marquez, frog

Kara Pecknold, frog

Fabio Sergio, frog

Hammans Stallings, frog

Alessandra Valenti, frog

Simone Wittmann, frog

Sumaiya Sadia Raihan, Grameenphone

Myat Hnin Phyu, Ooredoo

Tanya Rochelle Rabourn, Ooredoo

Kashif Malik, Telenor Pakistan

Abdullah Saqib, Telenor Pakistan

Nana Yaa Oti-Boateng, Vodafone Ghana

Mostaque Ahammed, WinMiaki